Jesse Plemons in Kinds of Kindness (Searchlight Pictures/Atsushi Nishijima)

After the success of two elaborate period pieces, The Favourite and Poor Things, Yorgos Lanthimos revisits his minimalistic Greek Weird Wave roots with a macabre triptych in the style of Dogtooth and The Lobster, also co-written with Efthimis Filippou.

And it’s spectacular.

A psychological horror leavened with sly comedy, Kinds of Kindness stars Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons, and Willem Dafoe playing different characters in three self-contained stories, but themes and personalities reoccur throughout the 164 audacious minutes. Yorgos Stefanakos, an old friend of Lanthimos and Filippou, plays the silent, middle-aged R.M.F, a mysterious character whose presence links the sections, and who presents more questions than answers. Other actors exchanging personalities in each segment are Hong Chau, Margaret Qualley, Joe Alwyn, and Mamoudou Athie, whose talent and commitment make the most unsavory moments less difficult to stomach.

The first tale, “The Death of R.M.F,” opens with the tone-setting synth pop hit, “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” by the Eurythmics while Robert (Plemons) follows the bizarre instructions of his boss, Raymond (Dafoe), that require him to crash his car into another driver. Soon we learn Robert’s life for the past 10 years has been guided by this Svengali overlord down to reading material, sexual habits, and diet. (Weight and food restrictions play a large part in the stories.) Robert craves Ray’s acceptance and willingly obeys orders. When the car crash fails, he confesses to his wife that their marriage was a set up and the reason they don’t have children is not what she thinks. The issues of power and control across the triptych are likely a metaphor for authoritarian governments, religions, corporations, and other institutions.

In the second story, “R.M.F. Is Flying,” Plemons (looking uncannily like Matt Damon) is Daniel, a police officer who awaits news about his wife, Liz (Stone), missing at sea on a scientific expedition. At a dinner for his partner and his wife, he insists on watching a home video for old time’s sake—and it turns out to be over-the-top pornography made by the two couples.

When Liz is found, she seems different, smoking and craving chocolate uncharacteristically. Her feet don’t fit into her shoes, but she has answers for her new behaviors and says her feet are simply swollen. Daniel doubts that this is actually his wife, to the dismay of others who believe he is deluded. He tests her with increasingly bizarre, violent requests that she (kindly?) fulfills. (Earlier, Liz recounts a dream in which dogs are in charge. An amusing montage of dogs driving, slurping spaghetti, and showering plays after the section’s denouement.)

In the final tale, “R.M.F. Eats a Sandwich,” Emma (Stone) and Andrew (Plemons) are devotees of a cult that includes sweat-tinged holy water, abstaining from sex with outsiders, and a belief that there exists a divine soul who can raise the dead. When Emma is ousted from the group after a date rape “contaminates” her, she seeks to regain acceptance by fulfilling a prophecy, finding the one who resurrects the dead. She speeds ridiculously in her purple Dodge Challenger and uses a ruse that includes maiming a dog to meet her goal, in just one of many blood-soaked scenes.

Overall, film crafts are excellent. Jerskin Fendrix’s score highlights emotions with tinkling piano, ominous chords, and chanting. The striking work by editor Yorgos Mavropsaridis and cinematographer Robbie Ryan add to the skewed worldview. Ryan’s tight close-ups of squeezing orange juice or French kissing contrast with widescreen compositions that might put a bit of a man’s moustache into the corner of the frame or crop the eyes off someone speaking. Black-and-white scenes indicate dreams and memories.

Costume design by Jennifer Johnson informs the new characters in each section. In the first, Qualley wears crotch-grazing satin robes, and Stone is equally leggy in a micromini bodycon dress. In the second, Stone’s pajama-like outfits show a more casual lifestyle, and in the third, baggy clothes make Plemons look underweight and meek, while Dafoe’s orange Speedo emphasizes the overt sexual nature of the cult.

The film debuted at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, where Plemons, a standout for his subtlety and range, won the Best Actor award. Fans of the early work of Lanthimos will appreciate his new level of boldness in Kinds of Kindness, along with his trademark eccentricities.